Drew Hutchison Making Case to Be Toronto Blue Jays' Future Ace

By Jonny Adornetto

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Going up against a potent Texas Rangers‘ lineup in one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in MLB is no easy task for any starting pitcher to take on, let alone it being against none other than Yu Darvish. That was the exact situation Toronto Blue Jays‘ starter, Drew Hutchison, found himself in on Friday night in Arlington, and he couldn’t have embraced the hand that was dealt to him any better.

For the first time since July of 2013, a Blue Jays’ starter threw a complete-game shutout, the last being Mark Buehrle against a lowly Houston Astros club. Hutchison’s performance against arguably one of baseball’s best pitchers proves that he has the stuff to one day find himself an ace of a staff. The stats put up by Hutchison against the Rangers will no doubt turn the heads of team executives around the league, as his counterpart in Darvish has been literally impossible to beat.

Hutchison threw nine innings of three-hit baseball, while striking out six and only walking one. If the Jays are to compete in the AL East in both the near and far future, Hutchison and his ability to one day hopefully show this type of dominating stuff on a regular basis will be a key component to their success. Depending on whether or not the Jays are competing in and around the All-Star break, Hutchison may find himself the ace of this staff quicker than both he and you would initially think.

With Buehrle pitching well and the overall appeal that R.A. Dickey seems to generate, teams will be interested in at least talking about the two veterans if Alex Anthopoulos chooses to blow things up and build for the future. Amongst all the potential madness come 81 games or so into the season, one thing is for sure: if Hutchison can put on a show every five days or so, similar to the one he had going in Arlington, Texas on Friday, he deserves to be top dog within the club’s next attempt in constructing a starting rotation.